UFC title shots don’t come around all too often.
They are rarely earned without sacrifice and can serve as a fighter’s career-defining accomplishment.
But as difficult as it is to cement a shot at promotional gold, it’s even tougher to take advantage o…
UFC title shots don’t come around all too often.
They are rarely earned without sacrifice and can serve as a fighter’s career-defining accomplishment.
But as difficult as it is to cement a shot at promotional gold, it’s even tougher to take advantage of the opportunity.
And for those challengers who taste defeat only to feel their time in the spotlight slip away, forging a divisional comeback is the only way to patch the wound.
Here are five recently vanquished title threats who may be close to earning another shot at gold.
The UFC is crawling with contenders and top fighters everywhere you look, which is what you’d expect from the biggest and best promotion in the world of MMA.
Right now, we have plenty of contenders in every division, but there are more lurking in the s…
The UFC is crawling with contenders and top fighters everywhere you look, which is what you’d expect from the biggest and best promotion in the world of MMA.
Right now, we have plenty of contenders in every division, but there are more lurking in the shadows. We call these fighters dark horses.
By “dark horse,” we mean a fighter who is not in the title picture yet but could be in the near future. These are fighters who have the ability to contend for a title and possibly become a champion.
So with that, let’s take a look at the latest dark-horse fighter in each UFC weight class.
Mixed martial arts is spreading like wildfire, and it’s evident in the UFC’s expansion throughout the world. Not long ago, MMA had a couple of main hot spots in the United States, Brazil and Japan, among other places.MMA outreach has become r…
Mixed martial arts is spreading like wildfire, and it’s evident in the UFC’s expansion throughout the world. Not long ago, MMAhad a couple of main hot spots in the United States, Brazil and Japan, among other places.
MMA outreach has become rapid, spreading to places that are now MMA-crazy. The sport has blown up, with fighters looking to make their way in the MMA world.
For four days this week, we are going to examine four of the newest hot spots in MMA. These are places where prospects and stars are starting to pop up, and they have a chance to provide great talent to the sport. We have chosen Ireland, Poland, Mexico and Russia for this series, as they seem to be the biggest hot spots right now.
Russia may be the hottest of spots for talent in MMA right now, as it has a mixture of seasoned vets and super prospects. It was almost impossible to narrow them down because there is so much talent, but we settled on 15 for right now.
Here are those 15 prospects this MMA hot spot could send to the UFC soon.
Mixed martial arts is spreading like wildfire, and it’s evident in the UFC’s expansion throughout the world. Not long ago, MMA had a couple of main hot spots in the United States, Brazil and Japan, among other places.MMA outreach has become rapid, spre…
Mixed martial arts is spreading like wildfire, and it’s evident in the UFC’s expansion throughout the world. Not long ago, MMA had a couple of main hot spots in the United States, Brazil and Japan, among other places.
MMA outreach has become rapid, spreading to places that are now MMA-crazy. The sport has blown up, with fighters looking to make their way in the MMA world.
For four days this week, we are going to examine four of the newest hot spots in MMA. These are places where prospects and stars are starting to pop up, and they have a chance to provide great talent to the sport. We have chosen Ireland, Poland, Mexico and Russia for this series, as they seem to be the biggest hot spots right now.
Mexico has a rich history in combat sports, especially when it comes to boxing. However, there has been a recent explosion in MMA interest, as seen with the UFC’s first trip there last year and the popularity of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America.
Here are four prospects this MMA hot spot could send to the UFC soon.
Alexa Grasso (7-0, Strawweight, Lobo Gym)
One of two women on this list, Alexa Grasso has become one of the best female prospects in the sport. She’s young, undefeated, exciting and skilled. That will make her a star in the near future.
Grasso is a striker, but she showed in her most recent fight that she can also grapple a bit. She is explosive on the feet, possessing heavy punches, snapping kicks and some violent knees.
Plus, she’s just 21 years old, which means she’ll have longevity in this sport. Her age is especially impressive considering she’s already 3-0 in Invicta. She has defeated the likes of Ashley Cummins, Alida Gray and highly touted Japanese fighter MizukiInoue.
Expect her to be a staple of the UFC women’s strawweight division.
Irene Aldana (5-1, Bantamweight, Lobo Gym)
The other woman on this list, Irene Aldana, proves the two best MMA fighters from Mexico are likely females. She and Alexa Grasso have proved this with their impressive starts in the sport and their jumps onto the scene via Invicta.
A bantamweight, Aldana is just 26 years old and has already racked up some impressive wins. Despite a discrepancy to former top prospect Larissa Pacheco, Aldana has scored wins over TUF 18 vets Colleen Schneider and Peggy Morgan, both via submission.
Aldana is a brute on the feet and has shown that in every one of her wins. Although she does have two submissions, they came as a result of Aldana hurting her opponent on the feet. Plus, she has three sub-minute knockouts in Mexico, which resulted from knees, punches and a spinning wheel kick.
Aldana has the skills to add talent to a bantamweight division that needs bodies. She’s an exciting prospect with a killer instinct, which will only benefit the division.
Jorge Gonzales (9-1, Light Heavyweight, A.D.A.M.)
It’s no secret that the UFC needs fighters in the light heavyweight division. That’s why Jorge Gonzales, a top Mexican fighter, could be a great add for the company.
Gonzales is an exciting fighter and a finisher, as George St. has never gone to decision. Most of his wins come via knockout, as he is a good striker with some developing submissions.
Not only has he never gone to decision, but he’s also never left the first round. And despite a submission loss to veteran Vinny Magalhaes, Gonzales has proved to be a savage, including his most recent bout, in which he tapped out Brazilian Fernando diPierro.
He is a decent size for the division, but his savagery is the thing to watch with this guy. He would be an exciting addition to a division in need of fresh faces.
Antonio Duarte (18-5, Bantamweight, Entram Gym)
A member of one of Mexico’s best training grounds, Entram Gym, Antonio Duarte is a nine-year veteran of the sport and one of the more experienced fighters from the country. A 23-fight combatant, Duarte has proved his worth in taking fights north and south of the border.
Duarte is a submission specialist, as 11 of his 18 wins have come via tapout. Many of those submissions were chokes, as he has a tight squeeze.
He has a couple of good wins as well. In addition to choking out Bellator veteran Ed West with a beautiful anaconda choke, Duarte has secured wins over WEC vet Seth Dikun and veteran Jesse Miramontes.
With the UFC’s return to the country at UFC 188, there is room to sign some of these fighters. Between Grasso, Aldana, Gonzales and Duarte, the UFC could have some new talent to pack on that card.
How wrong we were.
Anthony Pettis was supposed to take another step toward the top of the pound-for-pound mountain after destroying a tough Rafael dos Anjos. That didn’t happen.
Carla Esparza was supposed to walk across the Octagon and stalk her taller…
How wrong we were.
Anthony Pettis was supposed to take another step toward the top of the pound-for-pound mountain after destroying a tough Rafael dos Anjos. That didn’t happen.
Carla Esparza was supposed to walk across the Octagon and stalk her taller opponent before utilizing her superior wrestling en route to cementing her status as the best strawweight on the planet. That also didn’t happen.
But for as little as our predictions coincided with reality, there’s little reason to be upset. Sure, two of the champions lost their crowns, one of which looked to be one of the more promising young stars of the lighter weight classes. But when one champion falls, another rises.
Here are the three stars who emerged from UFC 185.
Joseph Duffy
He may not have received the same sort of recognition that Jake Shields or Eddie Alvarez did when they first signed with the UFC, but Joseph Duffy was already famous for at least one of his accomplishments outside of the Octagon: He’s the last man to defeat Conor McGregor. He did so five years ago in less than a minute. Trust me, the UFC won’t let you forget it in the lead-up to Duffy’s next bout.
It may have only been about two minutes of work inside of the cage, but Duffy showcased enough of his striking ability—which isn’t even his forte, mind you—to get people to take notice. That’s not to say he won’t have trouble when facing the crop of fighters that rest atop the UFC’s lightweight ranks (or featherweight ranks, assuming he moves down to face McGregor one day), but you can bet that the world will pay greater attention to Duffy’s next Octagon appearance.
Rafael dos Anjos
Of course this guy’s here. You don’t just beat the incumbent champion for five full rounds without making it onto a list like this.
After spending seven years as journeyman in the UFC, dos Anjos finally took that step. He became a UFC champion in what is often considered the toughest division in all of MMA. But he didn’t just beat the champion; he destroyed the champion. As Dana White put it, nobody actually thought Pettis could ever go down like that. We’d seen him lose fights before, most recently to Clay Guida, but he was never beaten so severely. From pillar to post, Pettis was dominated.
Dos Anjos wouldn’t let the champion breathe for more than a few seconds before darting forward with a face-crushing left hand or a soul-crushing takedown. When all was said and all was done, dos Anjos sat atop the cage and pointed toward the stars. It’s safe to say dos Anjos is still a ways away from seeing himself plastered on the cover of a Wheaties box, but knocking off a flurry of challengers certainly wouldn’t hurt his cause.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
She may not have taken part in the main event. She may not have dominated the most popular fighter on the entire card. She may not have been in the cage for more than two rounds. Even with all that, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is still the biggest star to come out of UFC 185.
She’d already done herself a lot of good after all of the UFC Embedded videos prior to her co-main event. She did what few other non-American fighters have been able to do: She made herself likeable in the eyes of the fans who are seemingly reluctant to accept anybody who doesn’t speak English as their first language (see Jose Aldo and Renan Barao).
And as if her charming ways on the video blogs weren’t enough to give her name some sort of recognition, the belt secured around her waist should fill in the gaps. She is Joanna Champion and, with the right dance partner, she may very well headline her own pay-per-view card before Demetrious Johnson ever does again.
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec, and a programming intern at Fox Sports San Diego. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
Well-rounded welterweight Ryan LaFlare will put his undefeated record on the line opposite crafty veteran Demian Maia this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 62.
It will be his toughest test to date and a chance to prove he’s a real title threat.
Unlike many …
Well-rounded welterweight Ryan LaFlare will put his undefeated record on the line opposite crafty veteran Demian Maia this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 62.
It will be his toughest test to date and a chance to prove he’s a real title threat.
Unlike many fighters currently competing in the UFC, including guys like Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson, LaFlare has never tasted professional defeat.
Instead, he has won by any and all means necessary to preserve an untarnished track record.
But the New Yorker is not alone. There are a select few who possess the same distinguishable zero in their lose column.
Here are the nine best of those aforementioned perfectionists.
Mixed martial arts is spreading like wildfire, and it’s evident in the UFC’s expansion throughout the world. Not long ago,